Champagne & Sparkling

Moët & Chandon

Moët & Chandon’s leadership in Champagne began in 1743 when Claude Moët founded the House. He went on to bring Champagne to the world, being the first to export in 1750. Today, Moët & Chandon continues its leadership with the most important vineyards in Champagne, providing unparalleled access to grand and premier cru vineyards, as well as the most extensive cellars.

Moët & Chandon’s approach to wine making fully respects the integrity of the fruit: stainless steel is used to keep the aromas intact; a unique and proprietary strain of yeast produces the ideal fermentation process and organic solutions are always preferred. Moët & Chandon makes sure nature is never forced, it is simply guided.

Moët & Chandon is the most influential buyer in Champagne with a team of wine-makers who assist the Chef de Cave, Benoit Gouez, in creating blends that express the signature style of the maison – bright fruitiness, a seductive palate, and an elegant maturity. To allow for perfect consistency when blending, Moët & Chandon is able to call upon the largest selection of wine reserves in Champagne.

The most fabulous story in Champagne since 1743, Moët & Chandon is the symbol of pleasure, splendor and spectacular fêtes.

In 1716, Claude Moët became a wine trader in the village of Epernay, Champagne. Thanks to success in the industry, Moët was able to found his own wine trading company, the house of Moët, in 1743. The company shipped 19,000 bottles that year with exports to the UK, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Holland, Germany and Switzerland.

In 1760, Moët's son, Claude-Louis Nicolas Moët, then in charge of the company, helped it to become the Champagne supplier to the Impérial Court of Russia and to the marquise de Pompadour, a member of the French court.

Jean-Remy MoëtDuring his tenure as head of the company (from 1789 to 1832) Jean-Remy Moët, the founder's grandson, established Moët as the world's first international luxury Champagne brand that not only sold Champagne, but held its own vineyards and made Champagne, as well. Jean-Remy Moët regularly hosted emperors and kings in Epernay, thus making his Champagne the choice of the European elite. He was a very close friend of Napoleon, who visited the house five times, and proclaimed his love of champagne and especially of the examples from the House of Moët.

Years later in 1868 as an honor to the Emperor, Moët established the Imperial designation in tribute to Napoleon. Today, this lives on in Moët & Chandon’s Imperial and Nectar Imperial Champagnes.

Napoleon's last visit to Moët in 1814 was followed by visits from other European royalty including the Csar of Russia, the Emperor of Austria, the King of Prussia, the Prince of Metternich and the Duke of Wellington. To this day, the House of Moët continues to be a favorite amongst royals and is the official supplier to the Royal Courts of Great-Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Spain and the Vatican.

Moët & ChandonIn 1832, Jean-Remy's son, Victor, and his son-in-law, Pierre-Gabriel Chandon, took over the company and named it Moët & Chandon.

Success and GlamourMoët & Chandon has been a part of practically every notable political, sports-related or entertainment event worldwide ever since the house was established. Now, Moët & Chandon is the official Champagne of fashion week in Milan, Paris and London, as well as the Golden Globe Awards in the United States. It remains the #1 Champagne world-over with an average one bottle sold every second of every hour somewhere in the world.

Moët & Chandon owns the largest amount of vineyard property in Champagne. Its 1,150 hectares (2,840 acres) cover 61 crus and are a third of the total vineyard property owned by maisons (the other respected Champagne houses) in the Champagne region. 50% of its estate vineyards are in Grand Cru areas and 25% are Premier Cru.

Moët & Chandon also buys the most grapes from other growers in Champagne and has access to 234 out of the 319 crus of Champagne. These grapes are some of the highest quality available, including 100% of the 17 Grand Cru villages and 70% (31 out of 44) of the Premier Crus. From these villages, Moet & Chandon makes around 800 different wines every year giving them the largest palette of wines produced by a champagne house for assemblage.

The craftsmanship that goes into making these wines is apparent when one understands the resources needed to produce these amazing wines. Moet & Chandon employs 250 vine-growers who spend the entire year working the vines. Before harvest, 300 samples are taken and analyzed for maturity in order to define the perfect date for harvest of each parcel - although these harvest dates evolve according to the changing weather conditions and grape quality.

During harvest, every single batch of juice is analyzed and tasted by an oenologist before being classified by cru and variety and, above all, quality.

WinemakingMoët & Chandon takes a very natural approach to winemaking that focuses on respecting the integrity of the fruit. Natural solutions are always preferred and additives are kept to a strict minimum. In order to preserve the 'bright fruitiness' of the grapes, non-oxidative (reductive) winemaking techniques are employed. These techniques include:

- Using stainless steel fermentation tanks rather than wooden casks to keep the inherent aromas of the grapes intact (note that Moët & Chandon was the first to use stainless in Champagne)- Fast filling of the vats and early yeast inoculation- Minimizing the wine transfers- The 'jetting' technique that helps to remove any oxygen that has gotten into the bottle during disgorgement.

Moët & Chandon is the only large Champagne house that uses its own strains of natural yeasts and bacterias, so that it can perfectly and consistently control every step of the fermentation process.

A team of 9 winemakers with international experience carry out all of the processes and assist Benoît Gouez, Moët & Chandon’s Chef de Cave, in designing blends that express the house style of Moët wines: wines with bright fruitiness, a seductive palate and confident maturity.

The iconic Moët & Chandon Imperial is aged for 24 months in Moët & Chandon’s cellars, which are the located in the most extensive natural chalk caves in the world (17 miles in length).

House StyleIn addition to preserving the bright fruitiness of the grapes, mouthfeel is also very critical. The mouthfeel of a wine can be altered by many techniques including systematic malolactic fermentation that will soften the acidity, the use of pinot meunier to bring a fleshiness to the wine, and long aging in the cellar for a fine bead (smaller bubbles) and a velvety texture.

Faithful to our founding philosophy of 'sharing the magic of champagne with the world', Moët & Chandon offers a diverse range of unique wines for every occasion, every mood and every palate.

Moët & Chandon ImpérialMoët Impérial is the House’s iconic champagne. Created in 1869, it embodies Moët & Chandon’s unique style, a style distinguished by its bright fruitiness, its seductive palate and its elegant maturity.

Created from more than 100 different wines, of which 20% to 30% are reserve wines specially selected to enhance its maturity, complexity and constancy, the assemblage reflects the diversity and complementarity of the three grapes varietals:

30 to 40% Pinot Noir - provides the body, structure and intensity as well as red fruit notes.30 to 40% Pinot Meunier - provides the roundness and fleshiness and white-fruit notes.20 to 30% Chardonnay - provides the elegance, acidity, and freshness with citrus fruit and white flower notes.

20% to 30% reserve wines9 g/litre Dosage (Brut)24 months aging in the cellar with an additional 3 months of bottle age after disgorgement.

Moët & Chandon Rosé ImpérialRosé Impérial is the most extroverted and seductive expression of the Moët & Chandon style. It reflects the diversity and complementary characteristics of the three champagne grapes and the richness of the region’s best vineyards to reveal the magic of the world’s most loved champagne. Lively and generous, Rosé Impérial distinguishes itself by a radiant color and an intense fruitiness on the palate that instantly seduces and delights.

Rosé Impérial’s assemblage is built on the intensity of Pinot Noir (40 to 50%, 10% of which is red wine), the fruitiness of Pinot Meunier (30 to 40%, 10% of which is red wine) and the finesse of Chardonnay (10 to 20%). The use of 20 to 30% of carefully selected reserve wines complete the assemblage and enhance its intensity, subtlety and consistency.

The color is a glowing pink with dominant red tones and purple highlights.The aromas are intense and irresistible, a lively bouquet of fresh red summer berries (strawberry, raspberry and red currant) with floral nuances (rose, hawthorn) and a light peppery touch. The palate combines intensity and roundness: fleshy and juicy at first, then firm (stone fruit), with a subtle herbal (mint) finish.

In a Mediterranean spirit, food pairings should be simple and intense in aroma, flavor and color. Particularly recommended are grilled shellfish, red-fleshed fish in a thin-sliced carpaccio, grilled or pan-seared red meat (raw to lightly cooked) in a light sauce, sun-ripened vegetables and fresh red berries.

Nectar Impérial's assemblage is built on the structure of Pinot Noir (40 to 50%), the flesh of Pinot Meunier (30 to 40%) and the freshness of Chardonnay (10 to 20%). The use of 20% to 30% of carefully selected reserve wines complete the assemblage and enhance its intensity, richness and consistency.

Its yellow color is sustained and nuanced with gold.

Its aromas are generous and rich with tropical fruits (pineapple, mango) and stoned fruits (Mirabelle plum, apricot), capped by nuances of grain (malt) and sweet spices (cinnamon and vanilla).

On the palate it is a succulent blend of richness and elegance, extreme creaminess and vibrant freshness (grapefruit).

Moët & Chandon Nectar Impérial RoséA gourmand and voluptuous expression of the Moët & Chandon style. The first unique rich and luscious rosé champagne in the U.S. - this vibrant champagne embodies fragrant aromas of nectarine, cherry and red currant with hints of sugar candy and rosemary.

Nectar Rosé's assemblage is built on the intensity of Pinot Noir (45 to 55%, 10% of which are red wine), the fruitiness of Pinot Meunier (35 to 45%, 10% of which are red wine) and the freshness of Chardonnay (5 to 10%). The use of 20% to 30% of carefully selected reserve wines complete the assemblage and enhance its density, richness and consistency.

Its red color is sustained and nuanced with coppery shades.

Its aromas are intense and deep with ripe berries (wild strawberry, blackberry, black currant) and cherry, nuanced by herbal and heady flowers notes.

On the palate it is a succulent blend of richness and elegance, density and creaminess, extreme fruitiness and vibrant freshness (gooseberry).

Moët & Chandon Grand VintageEvery Grand Vintage is a reinvention, an affirmation of know-how, a free and personal interpretation by the chef de cave to reveal each vintage's unique character. The first Moët & Chandon vintage was released in 1842 by Pierre-Gabriel Chandon. The maison has the largest collection of vintage champagnes in the cellar, some dating back to 1892 - a priceless heritage and a unique source of inspiration for the chef de cave.

Grand Vintage perfectly embodies the spirit of Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage champagnes. That spirit is based on three essential values:- freedom of interpretation- selection of the year's most remarkable wines- individuality of the vintage

These three values allow the winemaker to achieve champagnes that stand out for their maturity, complexity and presence.

Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2006Every Grand Vintage is unique and original, the Moet and Chandon cellar master's personal, free interpretation of the singular qualities of that year's grapes. The House's 71st vintage, Grand Vintage 2006 is a wine of delightfully fruity freshness. Initial notes of peach, mango, and banana flow into more mature aromas such as white pepper before evolving toward intriguing floral notes to create a champagne of refined complexity.

The 2006 VintageAfter a particularly cold winter, spring saw periods of frost and early summer brought hail, causing damage that, fortunately, was limited. Summer saw contrasting conditions: a heat wave in July followed by a cool, rainy August resulted in differing degrees of maturity across vineyards, but the hot, dry weather of early September facilitated ripening. Extending from September 7th to September 25th, the starting dates for the harvest indicate a determination to allow the grapes to reach a proper state of ripeness in every sector. The relatively abundant yield (13,000 kg/hectare) enabled selective harvesting and the avoidance of several areas affected by bunch rot as the end of the season turned rainy and grey. In the end, the sugar content of the grapes was relatively high (10.2 % potential alc/vol) with an acidity level close to the average for the decade (7g H2SO4/litre), a balance similar to that of 2002.